|
home|
 | ||
 about Orange | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
Sustainability isn´t about quick-fixes. It´s about changing the way people think and behave day-to-day. And believe it or not, mobile phones could be a big part of the answer. They have the power to change the way we all live and work.
Technology can make sustainability effortless, from small, simple things like sending more by email and text to life-changing apps, smartphones and smart meters that make sustainability part of everyday life. Today and tomorrow.
Three billion new SIM cards are made every year around the world. And each one sits in a piece of plastic the size of a credit card – 90% of which is redundant.
So we had an idea. We launched a mini SIM, which lets us print two SIMs in the space of one. Now, 80% of our SIMs are mini SIMs. We were the first mobile network in Europe to do it, and we seem to have started a trend.
Paperless billing not only uses less paper, it cuts costs too. We set a target to get 40% of our customers on e-billing by the end of 2010, and we´ve already smashed that. We also put all new Orange customers on e-billing automatically, unless they ask us not to.
There´s no point letting perfectly good phones go to waste. We sell a range of refurbished phones through our online shop and through eBay.
Our energy-efficient eco charger shuts itself off automatically when you´re fully charged. And it works with almost all mobile phones. So if you´re thinking of buying a charger, why not get one that all your mates will be able to use too? You can buy one from our online shop.
We´re also supporting a new European initiative to develop one charger to fit all phones in the future. It´ll mean you don´t have to throw away and buy a new charger every time you switch phones – and that´s a lot less electrical waste going to landfill.
In the last year, the rise of smartphones, social networking, 3G and apps has changed the way we live. The way we stay in touch, the way we manage our time, the way we learn. And we believe we can harness all of these things to make the world more sustainable in the future.
This will be our focus in the future: developing technology that makes sustainability nothing more than part of our normal, everyday lives. Making it effortless, making it fun. There are already apps that can track our energy use and carbon footprints, but we´ve only just begun to discover what´s possible.
